Let Me In
by beclaar
Summary: Cato has won the 72nd Hunger Games and is now Clove's mentor. At first she seems like any other of his long string of girls, but when his need to protect Clove gets stronger, he begins to question himself. Will Clove live? If so, what will happen afterwards? Clato. No second rebellion.
1. Chapter 1

_Hey everyone, this is my first Clato story, I hope you enjoy it! _

_In this story Cato is 17 and Clove is 16, sorry they aren't the same as the book!_

_Thank you to thathufflepuff for helping with the title!_

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**Cato's POV.**

The cannon sounds.

I stand firmly on the ground, my teeth gritted. My sister, Raven, stands roughly a metre away, nibbling on her lip the way she does when she's nervous. I can feel the corners of my mouth turn up and a muffled laugh follows.

"So it's just you and me." I say, throwing my sword in the air and catching it repeatedly.

Her eyes follow the sword as she gulps down the obvious lump in her throat. "You don't want to do this Cato, I'm your sister, come on."

"That sounds like a plea to me." I reply, I can hear the cockiness in my own voice. "There's only one winner and look who has the sword in their hand."

She changes her tone to a bitter whisper. "If you kill me you'll be exiled, Mother and Father will despise you. Does being alone for the rest of your life sound good to you?" She steps forward, squaring up to me. Even though she's a whole foot shorter than I am, she doesn't show any sign of fear. It's how we were raised.

My eyes flicker slightly just before Raven lunges towards me, her hands scrabbling for the sword. I pull it away from her with ease; she staggers forward, her fingers digging into my chest to steady herself.

This is the perfect moment. Her chest is unprotected, it'll be easy enough to stab her through the heart. I may not be sparing her, but she'll have a quick death. She'd be dead within a second, two at the most. The blade is sharp enough.

As she looks up I give her one last pitiful look before driving my sword through her thin frame. A short gasp escapes her lips before her body goes limp on the blade.

"I'm sorry." I say this more for the Capitol's sake than my own. They wouldn't be able to believe that a tribute could show no remorse over killing their own sibling. Only I know different.

**Clove's POV.**

"Clove, come in here! It's the interview. He's from two this year!" Mother shouts from downstairs, as if I don't already know.

I take my training gloves off and chuck them to the other side of the room. My feet pad down the oak stairs and I pick up an apple from the fruit bowl. I wander into the living room and a cocky-looking blonde boy stares out from the projection. The apple is juicy and perfectly ripe, well worth the extra money my parents pay for it.

My Mother turns to look at me, she looks cheerful, but with the icy cold undertone I see all too much in this district. She pats the seat next to her, indicating me to sit.

"That will be you next year. My daughter, a victor!" She smiles slightly.

I don't reply even though I feel a slight rush at the thought, I just pretend to be immensely interested in the interview. Caesar is sporting bright green hair this year, making me let out a small sigh of distaste.

"I have to say Cato, that was quite the finale this year. Am I right?" The audience cheer loudly. "The courage it must have taken to do that to your own sister was amazing."

Courage? Is that what the Capitol call a cold blooded murder these days?

"I told my District I would become a victor, at any cost. I did that. Here I am." He smirked as the audience went wild.

"So what will you dedicate your time to when you get home?"

"Oh I don't know, train I suppose." I groan, he'd been in the academy before while I was there. He didn't train so much as hit on girls.

I get up from my seat, bored of him already. I turn to Mother who is watching intently, a thick grin plastered on her face. It makes me cringe, the fact she seems to have a crush on a boy young enough to be her son.

"When will he be back?"

"Should be back in three days or so." She replied, not taking her eyes off the screen.

I'd better make the most of the next three days without our 'beloved victor'.

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_Please review and follow if you enjoyed it and tell me some improvements if needed, thank you! I will try to update as often as possible!_


	2. Chapter 2

_Hey guys, thank you for the reviews! I really wasn't expecting them! Here's a longer chapter, I hope you like it!_

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**Cato's POV**

I stand on the door step of my old home, staring at the rusted letterbox, the chipped paint.

I knock on the door loudly, my parents didn't even bother coming to my homecoming crowd. Easy guess why.

My Mother opened the door a crack, just for me to see her blue eye peek through, though all I realised were the huge grey shadows underneath.

"You're not welcome in this house." She said, her voice sounding as if she was going to cry.

I stumbled back slightly, trying to mask the shock that was obviously spreading across my face.

"Was this how you were going to treat Raven if she had killed me, huh?" Silence. "Didn't think so."

"We told you to enter next year! You would've been eighteen. You would've been stronger - more mature. You went against our wishes and killed your sister in the process, how dare you come here and verbally attack me!"

I heard a low voice come from behind my Mother. Suddenly my Father came storming out of the front door, catching me by surprise and managing to pin me by my neck to the wall.

"You," He spat "are not my son anymore. Go to your pretty little Victor's Village and leave us alone you sick creature. All you are is a heartless killer, now go."

He let go and I resisted every urge to choke. "Fine. If that's how you want it. I'll take my money, and I'll take my food, and everything you ever wanted. Everything I got because YOU trained me up to do this." I can feel the anger build up inside of me.

Before I know it, my fist has connected with the wall, sending shards of concrete into my scarred skin. I rip them out harshly before walking away.

I turn to see my parents staring at me, their eyes glistening with tears. I spit in their direction before sprinting in the direction of the Victor's Village.

**Clove's POV**

I begin the long walk to the bakery with my mother's instruction to give the baker a tip as it is Cato's mother.

As I stride confidently to the bakery, I slow when I get near the huge archway that leads to the Victor's Village. The houses are magnificent, towering way above any house I've ever seen before. Even the grass is noticeably greener, it's as if new life has been breathed onto this small plot of land.

I will make it there. Within a year, I will be there.

My thoughts are interrupted as I am barged into, my shoulder aching as the person just saunters past.

"Hey! Aren't you going to apologise?" I shout.

As I look closer I see that the person is, in fact, Cato. He strolls into the Victor's Village slower than his previous pace, obviously waiting for another reaction. He is in luck, as I am in the perfect mood for a fight.

"Oi!" I spit.

I punch him in the back, not expecting him to react, but instead he turns around, grabs my hair and yanks my head backwards into his chest. I can still see my surroundings, but not his face, just the arm gripped around my neck.

"I don't do apologies. At least not honest ones." He replies, letting me go. I quickly recover, standing as tall as I can in front of him.

"Yeah, I know that from your games." I say with a bitter smile.

"You've got quite a mouth on you." He says with a flirtatious grin, leaning down so his face is level with mine.

I sigh with boredom. "Yeah I do, and I have better things to do than listen to the same stuff you say to all of your whores. Bye Cato."

I could tell by his low chuckle that he was impressed and couldn't help but feel a little bit of a rush from the situation.

I walk away with a slight wiggle of my hips, I can feel his eyes staring behind me but I refuse to look back. I turn the corner, away from the Victor's Village and begin to walk normally again. I chuckle to myself as I throw and catch the coins in my hands. It begins to rain, and so I sprint my way to the bakers.

I enter and hear the familiar chime of the bell. A tall, thin blonde lady walks out. She has an extremely fake smile plastered on her face, followed by a look of confusion crossed with recognition.

"You're Margo's daughter?" She asks.

"Yeah, I am." I reply as I look at the various loaves of bread.

"I knew it! I'm Grace." She says, her smile changing into a more genuine one as she shakes my hand. "It's lovely to meet you...?"

"Clove." I reply, picking up a huge loaf of white bread.

"Clove! What a lovely name, your mother chose well!" A nervous laugh soon follows.

"I happened to see your son on the way down here, by the Victor's Village."

"Oh, he's not my son!" Grace says, her cheeks flushing red.

"But I thought..."

"Not anymore. I think it would be a good idea if you take your bread and go." Her voice resonates anger, but only subtly.

I struggle to comprehend what she just said. I can't have heard her correctly. "So after all that he's been through, you've _disowned_ him? After everything?" I can't believe that I am defending Cato of all people, but this seems a valid reason.

"It seems that you have a little crush on him, sweetheart." She says, her voice definitely raised. "I'd stay away from him if I were you, I know of all people what he's capable of."

I give her the most disgusted look I can muster, take the bread and slam the coins on the counter, which sends half of them flying on the floor. I keep the extra change my Mother gave me as a tip for her, a women like that doesn't deserve a penny more. I push the huge feeling to curse at her to the back of my mind, before walking out and slamming the door in the process.

There's a cold breeze outside, but I can still feel my face burning as the rage doesn't subside. I begin to feel guilty for how I was earlier to him, I certainly am not going to apologise, but I think it's time to pay Cato a visit in his Victor's Village.

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_Please review and tell me your thoughts, I hope you liked it, thank you!_


	3. Chapter 3

_Hey guys! Thank you for the follows and the lovely reviews! I love reading them and I appreciate them so so much!_

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**Clove's POV**

As I walk I begin to question my own motives. I know I'm not going to apologise, but why else am I practically jogging towards the Victor's Village?

When I reach the front porch my hand hovers over the door. _Pull yourself together Clove, stop acting so weak. _With a sharp breath I knock confidently, standing tall. Other girls would be quickly fixing their hair, smoothing their clothes; whereas I stand with my training clothes on, my hair an utter mess.

The door opens to a topless Cato. I try to stop myself but I can't help my eyes wandering to his extremely defined six pack and over his muscly arms. I look away as quickly as possible and look at his face; it is slightly pink and his hair is ruffled considerably.

"Um, I'm not interrupting anything am I?" I ask, more awkwardly than I had anticipated.

"Not at all." He says with a smirk, flattening his hair and purposefully flexing his muscles in the process.

"I can hear giggling from upstairs, Cato, I'm not stupid."

"Sorry, I can't have more than one girl at once," He says arrogantly. "Unless you're into that."

I raise my eyebrows. "You think I've come here to _have sex with you_?"

"Wouldn't be the first time a girls done that, as you can probably tell." He replies, nodding to the stairs.

I hear the creak of the stairs, followed by a girl dressed in, well, not much. After a moment I recognise the girl. Glimmer, I'd seen her at school, one of the 'popular' ones. She walked up behind Cato and kissed his back, obviously trying to make me leave.

Before I can say anything, Cato speaks up. "I should probably go back in; I'll see you around sometime, um..."

"Clove!" I almost shout, before calming my tone. "My name, is Clove."

I may aswell not have said anything as Glimmer turns Cato around, kissing him fiercely, and he slams the door in my face without another glance.

**Cato's POV**

I turn my body round and plant my feet firmly on the floor, before standing up and stretching. I walk to the other side of the room where my boxers had been thrown and slide them back on, wiping the sweat off my forehead afterwards. I struggle to put back on my trousers, hopping on one foot to get a leg in.

"Isn't it odd that you can take your clothes off so much quicker than you manage to put them back on." I turn around to Glimmer, still lying comfortably, the sheet just about covering everything. Her voice is laced with flirtation as she grins.

"Comes with practice." I reply, which wipes the grin straight off of her face.

I begin to do up my belt when Glimmer gets up, keeping the sheet around her. I go to pick up my shirt but she swipes it away, holding it at arms length. "Where are you going?"

"To train." I answer bluntly.

"But you're here with me?" Her tone oozes desperation.

"Yeah, and now I'm going."

She shoves the shirt into my chest angrily and stalks over to her clothes.

"Don't forget to lock the door on your way out. It's been fun, I might do it again." I say as cockily as I can.

She snorts irritably as I walk down the stairs, putting my top on in the process. I double knot my laces before slamming the door loudly and heading to the academy. I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy doing this to Glimmer. She's the same as everyone else, is lucky to have the chance and keeps on coming back, again and again. She's easy.

As soon as I get into the academy I head to the weights, dodging through the stamina equipment along my way. Even though I had sprinted the whole way to the academy, I craved adrenaline, and so went to the hand-to-hand combat zone. This was the only place where fighting was permitted; there was a male one-on-one zone, and right next it was the female one-on-one zone.

I queue up ready and about three people in front of me I see the girl with dark brown hair, small frame and almost black eyes... Clove, yeah, that's her name.

I try to attract her attention by giving a non subtle cough, which causes practically everyone else to turn around except her. Through the wave of people I see she is talking to someone; she sways on her feet, legs crossed, occasionally licking her lips.

I look for the recipient of this flirtatious behaviour; a boy with dark brown hair, obviously also a trained career. His body is okay, but he lacks the physical appearance to get many sponsors.

I push through the queue, people murmur and curse at me as I go, but I finally manage to get to Clove and pull her out of the queue.

"What are you doing?" She hisses. "I've been queueing for ten minutes!"

"Why are you flirting with that guy?" I ask, maybe a bit too curiously.

"Why do you care?" Clove counters, crossing her arms. "You didn't seem to be worrying earlier when I could hear you and Glimmer from five houses away."

I wince, but manage to recover quick enough for her not to see, hopefully. "Just saying, he's quite a downgrade from me."

She gives an unimpressed chuckle. "It's called tactics. For the games." She says. "I flirt; he wants to ally with me. Simple."

I narrow my eyes. This girl is smarter than I thought.

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_I hope you guys enjoyed it, please review and follow. Also, if you are looking for a good Finnick/Annie fic to read then check out 'A storm is brewing'! Once again, thank you so much!_


	4. Chapter 4

_Hey guys, thank you so much for the follows and reviews! I hope you like this chapter!_

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**Clove's POV**

I hold the pencil gently, as if I could accidently break it with anymore pressure. I would hate myself if I broke it, it's my only one. It's precious, the only part of me that isn't Career. My parents don't know about it, I can't even bring myself to tell my Mother, even though I know that she would love my drawings. She thinks art is a gift and anyone who can make it is more talented than even the strongest warriors.

I begin my sketch without knowing what I am going to draw. As I draw the pencil seems to glide by itself, without my mind telling it to. I draw a silhouette of a house on the left side, small and tattered, while on the other side is a tall, tidy looking one. I sketch a narrow road between them and add a sunset peaking above the pavement. It's missing something.

I put the end of my pencil in my mouth, biting at the wood. Suddenly it's back on the paper, sketching a tall figure. Big, with broad shoulders and light hair. After I've drawn the face I look at it and realise; the blue eyes, the cocky grin. Subconsciously, or maybe not, I don't even know. I've drawn Cato. The worst thing is, I've made it look beautiful.

I must show Mother. I skim through my sketchpad, ripping out the drawings that aren't quite right and tossing them in the bin.

Once I'm finished my feet pad down the stairs. I feel a wave of excitement, but also nervousness about showing my Mother what I've been keeping from her all these years.

I get to the bottom of the stairs and walk with a spring in my step. A huge grin on my face.

I walk around the sofa to where my Mother is lying.

A scream forces itself out of my throat.

**Cato's POV**

I take off my jacket and use it as a hood to shield myself from the pouring rain. I should've stayed in the Academy for longer, just for shelter, but I'd already been their six hours to make up for not going the last two weeks. As my mind wanders I accidently step in a large puddle, water shooting up and splashing all the way to my thighs as I curse loudly.

I continue to walk briskly, I'm only about three roads from the Victor's Village when I spot someone huddled against a wall. Their clothes are limp, stuck to skin and their dark hair drips as their body shakes.

I try to continue walking, but something in the back of my mind tells me to stop and see what's happened. Only out of pure curiousity of course, not because I actually _care_.

As I step closer they lift their head up. I can't help but stumble back slightly as I see Clove looking up at me, her eyes red with tears, nose running and her lips shivering. At first I have no idea how to react; Clove has always been the one girl I thought would never cry, just out of pure pride. But here she is, sobbing loudly, her face a mix of pain and emptiness.

I turn and sit down beside her, not particularly caring about how much more soaked I am getting by the second. I'm not good with words, never have been, so I just gently move her her head to rest on my chest. She cries into it, her whole body racked with sobs.

"She's dead."

I tilt her chin up for her to face me. "Who's dead?" I ask in a tone as soft as I can muster.

"Mum. I went downstairs to show her m-my drawings and she was l-lying there with blood pouring out of her mouth." She says the last bit in a whisper, as if the words were bringing her physical pain. "Stomach cancer; she never told us. She's dead Cato!" Clove shouts angrily, pounding her fists on my chest.

"It's okay." That's all I can think to say.

"Of course it's not okay, you complete arsehole!" She replies, pushing me away from her. "I have no one!"

"You have your Father."

"He's in District 1 _for a year_. He'll come back for her..." She closes her eyes. "Her funeral. Then he'll be gone. He said he won't leave me, but I know it." Shock courses through me, he couldn't just leave her? I know my parents hate me but if one of them died we'd go through it together, that's the unspoken rule of family, isn't it? It wasn't the same for my sister though. "He said he's getting back in three days."

"What are you going to do then?" I ask angrily.

"I don't know." She replies, tears welling up in her eyes again.

"I can't just leave you on the street." I look around slightly and sigh. "You're going to have to stay in my house."

"Cato I can't-"

"No, that's final." I reply, more irritably than I meant to.

She looks into my eyes for the first time ever, with a look of almost admiration. Her eyes are a deep brown, glittering through tears. "Thank you."

"It's okay." I stand up. "Let's get going."

**Clove's POV**

"You can have the bigger room and I'll take the spare." Cato says, making the bed and throwing rogue socks into the laundry basket.

His room is not as I had expected. It's not obnoxious with bright patterns and a huge king sized bed for him and his... friends with benefits. The room is quite plain; with white-wash walls and plain black bed sheets. The only thing that represents Cato is a huge sword hanging up on his wall.

He catches me looking at it. "President Snow sent it to me about a week after the games." He says bitterly. "He said it's a 'gift' for me to remember my courage in the games. To be honest, all I really remember when I look at it is that I killed my sister with it."

"That's kind of sick." I reply matter-of-fact.

"Yeah well, whatever."

He shuffles awkwardly; it must be difficult for him to have even stayed being nice for the hour he has been. "It's getting late, you should probably go to sleep."

"I'm not tired." I counter.

Cato raises his eyebrows. "Okay then, but I'm going to bed so, night." He replies, walking out of the room and shutting the door without a second glance.

He really doesn't get it.

I walk over to the bed, smelling the fresh sheets. They smell a lot more, almost sterile, than my musty bed sheets at home. As I think of home a new stream of tears begin to flow, but I shake my head. Pull yourself together, he's seen you cry,_ he thinks you're weak_.

I realise I have brought no clothes, not even a momento from home with me, so I strip out of my soaking clothes and climb into the covers in my underwear. I stare at the ceiling, my head pounding with thoughts of my Mother, lying still and dead somewhere that isn't home. I turn around and bury my head in the pillow, crying as loud as I want, the pillow muffling it to almost no sound.

After a while my eyes feel so heavy they drift closed, plummeting me into an empty blackness.

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_I hope you liked it! I attempted a plot twist! I tried to show a more sensitive side to both of them, even though we all know Cato isn't very good at that sort of thing._

_Please review and follow/favourite if you enjoyed! I'll update asap._


	5. Chapter 5

_Hey guys! Thank you so much for all of the reviews and follows, I've replied to all, but thank you to the guest reviews also, you're all so lovely and I appreciate it so so much! I hope you enjoy this chapter!_

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**Cato's POV**

I wake up, dark shadows under my eyes. Three days in a row I've woken to Clove screaming at four in the morning, with nightmares about her mother. Every night I've had to comfort and stay with her until dawn before she'll drift back to sleep.

Today is the day of the funeral. Clove insisted that I didn't come, she could handle it, but I know better.

It's already 9am, two hours before we have to leave. I open my walk in wardrobe and stand before what feels like thousands of suits that the Capitol had put in here for me, before picking the plainest black one in there - the one that attracts the least amount of attention. Normally Clove is up by now, but that's only if she hasn't been roaming the house all night.

I'm not prepared to take any crap from her today. She is a trained killer, she needs to learn how to handle herself, even in these circumstances; no, _especially_ in these circumstances.

I push her bedroom door open to see her huddled under the covers, her breathing deep. The only thing surfacing above the sheet is her hair spread over the pillow. I let out a light chuckle.

"Clove, get up." I say quite gently. No response. Okay, firmer this time. "Clove. The funeral is in two hours. Get. Up."

"No." I hear her muffled voice say.

Having no patience, I walk up to the bed and pull the covers away from her. My mouth gapes open unintentionally as she is huddled topless, only underwear shielding her body, a huge look of rage on her face.

"Cato!" She screams. I don't reply, trying to avert my gaze but my eyes seem fixed. Oops. "Turn around!" For once I do as I'm told, swivelling round to face the wall. I can't help but burst out laughing. "Oh thanks Cato, was it really that bad a sight? Actually, don't answer that."

"No, it was quite a pleasant sight actually." I hear a rustle as she zips up her jeans. "I was just laughing at the look of despair you pulled."

She sighs. "Okay, you can look now." I turn around to a bright red Clove, looking at me bitterly.

"Come on, I'm a man. You can't blame me." I say with a smirk.

She sighs again, before looking at my suit. Her face suddenly drops with the realisation of what today is.

**Clove's POV**

We walk to the town hall slowly, my breathing getting faster with each step. I put my hand out and grab Cato's tightly for comfort, he shoots me a confused look and then squeezes my hand tightly in reassurance. My eyes scan the road, a huge crowd of people dressed in black walk forward slowly, respectfully, to say goodbye to my mother. She was a very loved woman, not like most of the emotionless bitches that District 2 held.

As we arrive at the church a ton of people walk up to me, sympathy sweeps their faces as they shake my hand, all mumbling "I'm so sorry for your loss." Or something along those lines. I just want to tell them to shut up, scream at them and tell them they aren't invited, only I can say goodbye to my mother, not a load of random people I've never met.

"Are you sure you want me to come in with you?" Cato asks, looking around awkwardly as people point out that we're holding hands.

"Yes I'm sure." I reply firmly through gritted teeth.

"Clove!" I whip round to the source of the voice to see bright red hair bobbing as a figure runs to me from the distance. I narrow my eyes and realise it's my best friend whom I haven't seen in months due to her being home-ridden with pneumonia, as she got closer I saw the colour back in her face, her smile wide and her arms outstretched. She is wearing a bright floral dress, definitely not the usual funeral outfit, but that's how Eve is, bright and happy.

"Eve!" I brace myself as she jumps into my arms, people giving us dirty looks for being so cheerful at a funeral. "They wouldn't let me see you, they said you were contagious, I tried, I really did!" I mumble into her shoulder.

"God I've missed you so much. It's sad that we have to be reunited you know, like this." She says sadly.

Cato stands behind us, biting his nails awkwardly. "Um, this is Cato, he's letting me live with him for the moment."

Her face flickers slightly. "Hi." She says bluntly. She turns back to me. "You should've asked to stay with me."

"I couldn't see you." I reply quietly,_ guiltily_.

Cato coughs slightly. "Everyone is going in now, we probably should."

I nod slowly. I had been putting off this moment for hours, suddenly I feel sick, even though I haven't eaten anything all morning.

When we get into the hall the three of us walk slowly to the front row, the crowd looking at us intently. We get to our seats, right in front of the coffin and a lump rises in my throat. I sit between Cato and Eve, holding both of their hands so tightly I feel my knuckles may burst.

The service starts and everyone begins singing a hymn. I keep my mouth firmly closed. My mother has never sang this, probably never even heard it. Her funeral is meant to be a representative of her, but no one except me knows my mother truly. I stare at the coffin, my eyes focusing and unfocusing.

Suddenly I hear the back doors swing open, people pausing their singing for a moment before restarting. I turn around to see my father staggering down the aisle, obviously extremely intoxicated. He gets to the front row.

"Get out of my way!" He shouts, well, slurs, at Cato. Uh oh. "I want to sit next to my daughter!" I prepare myself to have to stop Cato punching him square in the face, but all he does is raise his eyebrows and move over, his teeth gritted under a false smile.

He mutters through the whole ceremony, cursing and also pointing out the fact that these hymns and prayers have nothing to do with my mother.

Eventually the service draws to an end, I hold my breath as the coffin moves. It goes painfully slowly and begins to go through a curtain. The Capitol anthem plays in the background but I block that out, my only clear thought is that she's gone. Forever. The only person who truly understood me is dead. She's about to be burnt.

I feel a tear roll down my cheek but it doesn't even matter, I don't care. Eve squeezes my hand tightly. I look over to see her whole face damp, streams and streams of tears running down. Eve and my mother were close when I was younger, my mother used to refer to her as her 'second daughter'.

The curtains close and the funeral is over. Leaving every trace of my mother behind.

Everyone begins to leave, I hear sniffs of fake crying, everyone pretending to be full of sorrow for a woman they hardly knew. I remain sitting with Cato, Eve and my father. Eve rests her head on my shoulder, her whole body shaking with sobs. Genuine ones. Eventually I stand up, Cato and Eve doing so straight after. I turn around to walk out before I break down in front of them all.

"You need to move to District 1 with me. You can't stay here." My father's voice echos as he remains sitting, turned away from me.

"No. I'm staying here. You can't just come here whenever you like and tell me what you're going to do with me."

He stares at me in disgust. "You are my daughter and you will do as I say!" He shouts. "This is all your fault in the first place and you will not defy me!"

"Excuse me?" I spit.

He gets up and walks over to me slowly, adjusting his tie for good measure. "Your mother, _my wife_, is dead because of you." He slurs, his voice venomous.

"Dont you dare." I shout. "Don't you dare say that to me! You haven't been here for pretty much my whole life! Sixteen years you haven't been here-" I am silenced by a hard slap by my father. I look at him, shocked. Cato comes bustling out from behind me, his face contorted with rage. "Cato don't!"

Too late. Cato punches him hard in the stomach, making him double-over. He then proceeds to also hit him round the jaw with such an effort that I hear his jaw crunch under Cato's fists.

"We're leaving." Cato says firmly. "You don't need this waste of space."

I don't object, not when Cato is in a mood like this. We rush out of the hall, followed closely by Eve, who does her best to comfort me.

Suddenly I scream, I can barely feel myself do it, it continues as Cato and Eve try to calm me down but I can't. I fall to my knees, my head in my hands. My whole body aches and my head is pounding, longing for my mother.

Longing for something to keep me sane.

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_I hope you liked it! Please tell me what you thought of Clove's father and also Eve! I'm interested, it was a very emotional chapter, I hope I did it right and didn't make Clove seem weak or anything because that is certainly what I DIDN'T want to do._

_Please review and follow, it makes me feel so happy when you guys do! Thank you!_


	6. Chapter 6

_**Thank you guys for the reviews and follows, I hope you like this chapter.**_

_**This chapter contains a curse word, I hope you don't mind I just think it's needed in the situation.**_

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**Clove's POV**

I wipe the beads of sweat off of my forehead as I walk along the path with Sebastian; the cool air feels good after eight straight hours of training. The owner suggested I leave two hours ago, to 'take a break'. Not an option.

Sebastian is the same, but he doesn't get the amount of relief as I do when I train. I can take my mind off of everything. My mother. My father. Anything that connects with either of those.

He's nice, is Sebastian. He refuses to let me walk home in the dark, which is often when we leave the academy. Light flirtation fills all of our conversations and I roll with it; he'd make a good ally. He's strong, agile and intelligent, all of which make a good tribute.

My mind focuses back when we get to the door. He stands idly, not showing any signs of walking away. "Come in if you like," I say casually.

Sebastian raises his eyebrows. "Isn't this Cato's house?"

"Yeah, so?"

"He didn't exactly seem to like me the first time we met." My mind wanders back to Cato's aggression in the training center a month ago when saw me flirting with Sebastian.

"Hmm, I suppose you better not then."

He smirks. "Maybe you can come to mine next time."

Ugh. Male Careers are all the same. "Maybe." Is all I reply before jamming my key in the lock. "See ya."

I quickly close the door without looking back. Immediately a stale smell hits me. I wander into the living room to see Cato sitting on the sofa, a bottle of whiskey in his hand. The table is full of shot glasses and bottles of alcohol that I've never even seen before.

"Cato, what the hell." I say, not able to keep the revulsion out of my voice.

He stands up groggily, slamming the bottle of whiskey on the table. "This isn't what it looks like."

I narrow my eyes in disgust. "What is it then? To me this looks like you're completely smashed. You can't even stand up properly."

He walks over to me, somehow still managing to look cocky as he does it, despite his drunkness. I back away until my back hits the wall, never looking away as I continually glare at Cato. He puts his hands on either side of my shoulders, his face inches away from mine. I can smell stale alcohol on his breath, making me want to gag.

"I've only had like... two shots." He slurs, grinning at me. His eyes wander over my body like I'm a piece of meat.

"Get off me." I say as I struggle to duck under his arms, he just moves them down to my level and pushes me back against the wall. He ignores me and grabs my waist, leaning in towards me. Why on earth would I want to kiss this drunken mess? I quickly push him as hard as I can, sending him tumbling to the floor with a large thud. "Thank you."

"Oh come on, it's only a bit of fun."

"No it's not," I find myself shouting. He looks up at me. Cato's eyes widened as I grab a bucket and fill it with water.

"You need to sober up." I hiss as I throw the freezing water on him. He looks momentarily dazed before his face turns red with rage. I turn to walk away but he's too quick. He comes up behind me, forcibly turning me around before grabbing me by the throat. I gasp, struggling to breathe. He looks at me with the uttermost malice.

As I feel my face turn blue he suddenly realises what he is doing. His eyes lower and he half-heartedly lets going. I try to hold back a choke but I can't help but grab defensively at my throat.

I look him directly in the eye. "You are _exactly_ like my Father."

I quickly dash up the stairs to avoid crying, I run into my room - Cato's room - and lock it. My back slides down the door as I scrape at my face with my nails angrily, my voice seems to growl as I do so. My whole body is shaking.

He could've easily killed me.

**Cato's POV**

My head feels clouded, almost heavy on my neck as I get up off the sofa. It's dawn, 6am the clock tells me but I struggle to recollect any of last nights events. Looking around I see a mess of alcohol and glasses, some glass sticking out of the carpet. I get up slowly, still feeling light headed. My eyes scan the room until they focus on a bucket in the corner of the room.

Suddenly my memories all hit me at once, feeling like a punch in the face. Shit.

I sprint up the stairs, completely ignoring the aching of my entire body. I turn the handle of Clove's door. Locked. I pound on it with my fists, each knock causing the floor to vibrate even more than the last. "Clove, open the door!" I shout loudly. No reply. "Open it now or I'll knock it down." I threaten.

I stop knocking to be met with silence, I must have hurt her badly. I look to the floor; this must be what guilt feels like. "It wasn't me you know." I say calmly. "That's not me." This may take a while. "Listen, I had no idea what I was doing. You just, you just pissed me off and I got angry. I didn't mean to... Oh who am I kidding."

Just as I'm about to give up and give Clove some space I hear the soft padding of feet on the floor. I hear the clunk of the key turning in the door before it opens a tiny crack, showing only one of Clove's eyes.

"Let me in." I say softly.

She opens the door fully and stands tensely. I can't help but gasp when I see what I've done.

Clove has dark red lines raked down her face as if it's been scratched. The lines make her face look white, the dark shadows under her eyes even more pronounced. But none of this compares to what I have caused. Her whole neck is bruised, shades of purple, green and dark blue blending into each other. I look at her intensely, her eyes avoid mine but I can still see the emptiness inside of them. I feel as if I've betrayed her.

"Oh my god." I whisper, walking to hug her.

She tenses up. "Please don't touch me." She whimpers. This isn't Clove. Clove isn't scared of anything. She's the girl that has the best chances of anyone in District 2 of winning the hunger games, yet here she is, shaking in fear of _me_. I back away, raising my hands to my head to show I'm not going to touch her.

"I'm going to move in with Eve." Sensing that I will object she speaks again. "For a couple of days. I can't stay with you until you've thrown out all of that alcohol."

"I'll throw it out now. I won't do it again!" I can hear my voice almost pleading. Pull yourself together Cato.

"Why did you do it in the first place? You're supposed to be strong, Cato." I can do nothing but stare at her blankly.

Why did I? I have no valid reason. I told myself it was just a bit of fun but just looking at Clove has clearly shown how that spiralled out of control. She turns around and picks up a bag, it seems full for only two days worth of clothes.

Clove gets to the top of the stairs before turning around and looking directly into my eyes, as if she can see right through me.

"You need to sort yourself out." Was all she could say.

"I'm sorry." I whisper back. "Don't go."

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**_Sorry for the completely awful ending, but there's more to come in the next chapter! _**

**_Please please please tell me your thoughts on this chapter, the good things, the bad things, if you could tell me in as much detail as possible that would be absolutely amazing! Thank you so so much for all of the reviews and follows, I can't believe I have this many on my sixth chapter, wow._**

**_Also please tell me what you think of Sebastian being introduced. I know I've made my own characters but I have plans for them that I couldn't use the original characters for, sorry!_**

**_I know this was a bit of a rubbish chapter but please bare with me, I've planned what's to come and it gets better. I'm planning on doing some things including the victory tour and then I'll move straight on to the games, sorry if you were hoping the games would be sooner._**

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